$50,000 reward in theft of bars

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information leading to the recovery of eight gold ingots stolen from an unidentified individual.

These gold ingots were part of the treasure recovered from the S.S. Central America, which sank in a hurricane in 1857 off the coast of North Carolina.

Though the FBI is reported to be investigating, details are sketchy because the owner does not wish to be identified. Instead, he is working through public relations professional Donn Pearlman.

The Professional Numismatists Guild also issued an alert to its members.

A list of eight ingots with the identifying serial numbers, assayer name, weight and value stamped into the ingots follows. The dollar values are what the metal was worth at the time the ingots were made. A ninth ingot apparently has already been melted.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of any or all of these ingots are asked to contact Donn Pearlman by phone at (702) 868-5777, or by e-mail at donnpr@aol.com.